News & Advice

The Sentence of Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP sentence) was introduced under the Criminal Justice Act 2003 to detain people in prison who posed a significant risk of causing harm to the public.  Following criticism of the sentence and its operation, it was reformed in 2008, and subsequently abolished in 2012. In total, 8,711 individuals… Continue reading MPs Unhappy with IPP Sentencing Injustice

We were concerned that a minor piece of research, casting doubt on the quality of representation in youth cases, was widely reported in the press.   What did the study suggest? A report by “Fair Trials”, Young minds, big decisions, alleges that young people are being placed under intense pressure to plead guilty to crimes without… Continue reading Youth Cases & Quality of Representation

General deterrence raises some of the oldest questions in criminology. A general deterrent effect would occur where a disposal makes other potential offenders less likely to offend. General deterrence is said to depend on three main factors which have been explored in recent research published by the Sentencing Council:  – The certainty that an offender… Continue reading Sentencing & Deterrence

On 5th January 2022 at the Crown Court sitting at Bristol, four defendants were found not guilty of criminal damage even though they had readily admitted to removing a statue (of Edward Colston) from its plinth and tipping it into the harbour. Following the acquittals, the Attorney General referred a point of law to the… Continue reading Statues, Protest & Human Rights

An increasingly common occurrence is some defendants refusing to leave prison to attend sentencing hearings.  Judges frequently opine that there is no adequate remedy, and this has caused concern with both victim groups and politicians demanding action. Jonathan Storer, CPS lead on crime in prisons, said:  “For many victims, having their impact statement read in… Continue reading Non-Attendance At Court

Given the complexity of many criminal trials, it is inevitable that, from time to time, something will go wrong. A witness may give inadmissible evidence; the jury was shown something they ought not to have seen, or a judge or advocate making an inappropriate comment. When mistakes happen, all parties will wish to consider the… Continue reading Discharge of the Jury

The government has recently released data in respect to football-related crime and disorder. They discuss all aspects of crime, such as football-related arrests, football banning orders, reported incidents of football-related anti-social behaviour, violence and disorder and experimental statistics on online hate crime connected to the game. Here at Broadbent’s Solicitors, we’ve taken some key findings… Continue reading Football & Disorder

The Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Bill has been laid before parliament and is intended to:  “strengthen the UK’s reputation as a place where legitimate businesses can thrive while driving dirty money out of the UK.”  Through the legislative reforms, anyone who registers a company in the UK will need to verify their identity, tackling… Continue reading New Crackdown on Fraud and Money Laundering

Given we are criminal defence lawyers we interact with police on a regular basis, but perhaps without thinking too much about the office of police constable and what it entails. Every police officer, irrespective of rank, holds the office of police constable. The office dates back to ancient times and the practice of each local… Continue reading Police Constables

When sentencing for offences of assault, the use of a weapon will always be an aggravating feature. The sentencing guideline also refers explicitly to “highly dangerous weapons” and will be treated as a particularly serious feature of the offending. In a recent case before the Court of Appeal, the court was considering whether a four… Continue reading Highly Dangerous Weapons & Sentencing